Measuring the Information Search Behaviors of Adventure Sport Tourists

Abstract

Sport tourism organizations engage in the practice of developing marketing communication and editorial information with the belief that these types of sport- and tourism-related communications are an important element of the sport tourists' prepurchase decision process. However, understanding the extent of its effectiveness requires an investigation into what communication mediums are preferred and from which source do they generally hold in highest regard. Thus, the purpose of this study was to first validate a survey instrument that provides a comprehensive means of measuring the information search behaviors of sport tourists, and second, examine how experience associated with an event and tourism status may influence consumers' information source preferences. Data were collected by surveying participants competing in multiple adventure sport tourism events. Confirmatory factor analysis validated a four-factor information source scale that illustrates sport tourism consumers' utilization of internet, interpersonal, print/media, and internal memory search methods. Findings revealed that adventure sport athletes, when lacking past experience with an event, will favor information derived from social peer groups. However, when participants became more experienced they relied more heavily upon their memory. Cultural explanations underpinning these communicative tendencies are discussed and marketing implications are presented.

Towards the smart tourism destination: Key factors in information source use on the tourist shopping journey

“…However, this is the least important factor in the first stage of the purchasing process. Thus, while it has been shown that it is an important variable in the use of information sources in retail purchases ( Broilo et al, 2016 ) and in the tourism field ( Fodness & Murray, 1999 ; Hungenberg et al, 2019 ), it is less so in the process of searching for information when shopping in a destination. This could be explained by the lack of familiarity among the family and friends of the tourist of the commercial offer at the destination.…”

The Influence of Multi-Variation In-Trust Web Feature Behavior Performance on the Information Dissemination Mechanism in Virtual Community

“…Harrison et al [40] believe that ability means believing others possess the capability or power to do what needs to be done for themselves. Information seekers rely more on information sources with high-level professional knowledge [70], and the information recommended by people with relevant experience is more persuasive [71]. Thus, the hypothesis is as follows: Hypothesis 2a (H2a).…”

“…Wasko et al [10] found that individuals with rich knowledge are more inclined to share information and make generous contributions to others. Other research shows that information seekers rely more on information sources with highly professional knowledge, and the information recommended by people who have relevant experience is more persuasive [70,71]. Furthermore, according to the incentive mechanism formulated by the virtual community, valuable contributions, especially when sharing professional knowledge, can improve the reputation of users among their peers [76].…”

“…Therefore, the recognition method of trustworthy behaviors may be different depending on the reference group, and users of the different online communities may give varying degrees of attention to different online behaviors of online trust. For products dealing with complex and professional knowledge, people tend to accept the recommendation of experts [71], such as for cars and mobile phones. If an online platform is a microblog, the positive response of bloggers or network platforms plays a positive role in the diffusion of information or influence [94][95][96].…”